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GUEST OPINION
We have all been hit hard by the pictures coming from the fire destruction in the LA area. I know of two people personally who have lost everything… and I do mean everything. There’s been some interesting responses to the fact that many of these homes are worth millions each – owned by the very wealthy and the very famous. Who should care about them? What about those who couldn’t even purchase fire insurance anymore? The middle-class and the poor without other resources, savings, or hope?
Two things to ponder. I watched footage as Dick Van Dyke – a most beloved actor – battle with a hose to save his home. At the age of 98, and overcome with exhaustion, it took good neighbors to get him, his wife and pets into a vehicle and out of harm’s way. He was no different than any of the others who stayed behind, against all hope or reason, to try and save their homes. A few were lucky. Most were not.
And yes, the wealthy will have no trouble in the rebuilding-relocating problems, but the loss of their memories, their possessions, their homes, is no less a tragedy.
The other thing to ponder is the acts of selflessness we were witness to. Neighbors helping move horses out of harm’s way while their own homes were being overwhelmed by flames. The firefighter comforting a dog left behind – certainly unintentionally – as he held a hose against a wall of flames in front of the two of them. The people of faith who gathered together at others places of worship, or in the ash of their own church, to celebrate God’s presence in all of this hell.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean you own a monopoly on selflessness, but it should be the first thing people recognize in those of us who claim Christ as their own. So don’t sit there in your comfy chair, berating those of other faiths (or no faith at all), just because they were kind enough to reach out a hand when it was most needed.
And remember something… we’re surrounded by forests, many of our homes deep in the woods on narrow roads or in quiet acreage. Are you ready for the fire that is sure to come – if not this summer than sooner than we think? And are you ready to be the one who helps that neighbor when they need help and you are either safe or have lost everything already?
Pray for all those affected in these fires, no matter who they are. We could easily be next.
